Google On Wednesday, staff were told they had to return to the office on April 4th, and the Silicon Valley company will adopt a hybrid model with three days in the office and two days of work from where they choose.
John Casey, Google’s vice president of global advantage, wrote to employees outlining the plan in an email he received from The Wall Street Journal.
“Our hybrid model balances the best of being together in person and being everywhere – where teams can intentionally come together to collaborate and connect in the office, and spend the rest of the day working from where the best meets their needs, “Casey wrote.
The move is just the latest in the saga of returning to the office – and comes after Google announced in the fall that employees could apply for telecommuting and receive pay cuts as a result of moving away from expensive coastal cities.
It was not clear whether these agreed deals would remain in force or whether these workers would also be called to work.
Google has not yet responded to DailyMail.com’s request for comment.
Google’s global headquarters is pictured in Mountain View, California. From April 4, workers must return to their desks three days a week
John Casey, vice president of global advantage at Google, announced the move in an email to staff sent Wednesday
COVID cases have dropped significantly across the country, with a 53 percent drop in cases in the past two weeks in California and a 55 percent drop in New York
The move came a day after Joe Biden, in his address on the state of the Union, called on Americans to return to their offices.
“It’s time for Americans to return to work and fill our big centers again,” he said, noting the decline in COVID-19 infection and hospitalizations across the country.
“People working from home can feel safe to start returning to the office.
“We are doing this here in the federal government. Most federal workers will return to work in person.
“Our schools are open. Let it stay that way. Our children have to go to school.
“And because 75 percent of American adults are fully vaccinated and hospitalizations are down 77 percent, most Americans can take off their masks, return to work, stay in the classroom, and move on safely.”
Google Alphabet’s parent CEO, Sundar Pichai, said last weekend in an interview with The Wall Street Journal he said it envisions his employees returning to part-time work in the office.
“We think it’s important to attract people for a few days a week, but we accept every opportunity,” he said.
“I think we can be more focused on the time we are in by making sure that group meetings or collaboration, creative collaborative brainstorming, or community building happen then.”
Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, said last week that he expected a hybrid model of returning to the office, with some working days from home and others at the office.
Google originally planned to ask employees to return to the office in January 2021.
A survey conducted by the company in March 2021 showed a decline in welfare among its employees, which led Google to announce a series of benefits, including a $ 500 cash bonus.
In the summer of 2021, then Google announced – along with other technology companies such as Facebook, Reddit and Twitter – that people can apply for permanent work from home, but will receive a pay cut if they move to an area where the cost of living are considered lower. .
“Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where the employee works,” a Google spokesman told Reuters in August, adding that pay would vary from city to city and state. to declare.
Screenshots of Google’s internal payroll calculator, seen by Reuters, show that an employee living in Stamford, Connecticut – an hour’s drive from New York – will receive 15 percent less if she or he works from home. as long as a colleague from the same office lives in New York will not cut work from home.
Screenshots show 5% and 10% differences in Seattle, Boston and San Francisco.
Google’s Manhattan offices are pictured. If employees choose to move to a cheaper part of the United States, their salaries in New York will be reduced
Interviews with Google officials show pay cuts of up to 25 percent for telecommuting if they leave San Francisco for nearly as expensive an area of the state as Lake Tahoe.
A woman told Wired that being told to move to North Carolina would force her to cut pay by 25 percent.
Twitter, which announced in October 2020 that their staff could work permanently from home, is gradually returning staff if they wish.
Facebook, American Express and Wells Fargo are among the companies planning to open more offices this month.
American Express told workers it would be encouraged to return to the New York office on March 1, followed by a wider return on March 15.
Facebook’s parent company, Meta, begins its return to the office on March 28.
Microsoft told employees it had to start discussions with its managers on February 28 about returning to the office, and gave them 30 days to agree on an agreement. Most will be able to work from home half the time, Microsoft said.
Ford Motor said in April that it would adopt a hybrid work program in which many employees could be partly personal and partly remote.
The parent company The Wall Street Journal announced a flexible approach this week, and The Washington Post said this month that staff will have to return in March.
The New York Times on Thursday announced a plan for a gradual return to the office, in which employees are encouraged to return to the office from time to time from April 4 and are expected to accept a combination of personal and remote work from June 6.
Banks were among the fastest to recruit staff after Omicron’s jump peaked.
Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase called employees on February 1, and Citigroup said this week that its vaccinated employees in the United States must return to the office at least two days a week, starting March 21, if they have not yet returned.
BNY Mellon broke away from its Wall Street counterparts by introducing a more flexible scheme of work.
Chevron, which postponed its return to the office in January, has asked workers in Houston to return on February 14.
New York Mayor Eric Adams is urging companies to return their staff to restore some of the city’s vitality.
Office occupancy averaged 31% from pre-COVID levels in 10 major cities last month, from 23% in early January and a 40% drop from the peak of the pandemic in the first week of December, according to security firm Kastle Systems.
A report from last month’s New York Partnership found that the majority of employers surveyed expect daily attendance at their offices to exceed 50 percent of the average weekday by the end of March.